Numbers Remain Short

Smruti Deshpande

On September 30, the Indian Air Force (IAF) number plated its Srinagar-based 51 Squadron, which operated the MiG-21 Bisons. The remaining three squadrons will be retired by 2025, each comprising 16-18 aircraft. It has become imperative for the air force to stop using the MiG 21 aircraft, first procured in 1963, given the cost of lives that the force has had to bear over the years. To put it in perspective, in the last 60 years over 400 MiG-21s have crashed, killing 170 pilots, as per the Ministry of Defence (MoD) data.

Rafale

Today, the IAF has 31 fighter squadrons. In the coming few years, this number will further reduce to less than 30 for the first time. During last year’s press conference, Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said it would not be possible for the IAF to reach the sanctioned strength of 42 fighter squadrons in the next 10-15 years. The strength will remain at 35 squadrons, he said.

“Four squadrons of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A, six squadrons of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and six Medium Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA), and then factoring in the phaseout, it will remain at 35 squadrons in the next decade. There is no scope for increment as of now,” he said. He added that because of the phasing out of MiG-21s, Jaguars, Mirage-2000 and MiG-29 by the end of the decade, accretions were limited to 83 LCA Mk-1A, which are set to begin only by 2024. Currently, it is known that the Mk-1A started undergoing maiden flight trials from May onwards. This aircraft is an upgraded version of the LCA Mk-1. The LCA Mk-1 reached full operational capability in 2020.

The IAF has an authorised strength